MReport June 2017

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TH E M R EP O RT
| 63
SECONDARY
MARKET
THE LATEST
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Latest Report Shows Drop
in Buyer's Confidence
Homebuyers feel it's a good time to sell but not a good time to buy.
T
he Home Purchase
Sentiment Index (HPSI)
released in April by
Fannie Mae showed a
March slump, after gains in the
previous two months.
"Home purchase sentiment
gave back some of the gains
accumulated over the prior two
months that sent the index (HPSI)
to its survey high in February,''
said Doug Duncan, SVP and
Chief Economist at Fannie Mae.
"Strong home price appreciation
has turned into a double-edged
sword for the housing market
as it boosted the net share of
consumers saying it's a good time
to sell to a record high, surpassing
the plunging good time to-buy-
indicator for the first time in the
history of the survey.
"In addition, the net share of
consumers who expect mortgage
rates to rise over the next year
exceeded that experienced during
the 2013 taper tantrum," Duncan
added. "However, the housing
market could get some tailwinds
from a seasonal rise in for-sale
inventory, particularly as home
sellers seek to lock in profits from
recent rapid home price gains.
The market could also get a boost
from homebuyers who decide to
jump into the market before rates
rise further."
The Fannie Mae survey polls
1,000 households and simply asks
how they feel about owning or
renting a home, the economy,
finances, and other factors. All in
all, the survey asks 100 questions
designed to track shifts in at
-
titude. The findings are compared
to the same monthly survey going
back to 2010.
Those who said it is a good time
to sell increased by 9 percentage
points to 31 percent. That is a sur
-
vey high for two straight months.
High home prices were the
most important reason for both
the bad time-to-buy and good
time-to-sell indicators, cited by 39
percent of consumers who said
it is a bad time to buy (a survey
high) and 24 percent of those
who said it is a good time to sell.
Americans who said that home
prices will go up decreased by 1
percentage point in March to 44
percent. Those who foresee rising
mortgage rates in the next year
fell five percentage points, which
is a survey low. Additionally,
more Americans were concerned
about losing their jobs; and in the
March Fannie Mae survey, fewer
reported a rise in household
income.
Conversely, Fannie Mae's first-
quarter 2017 Mortgage Lender
Sentiment Survey showed lenders,
both big, small, and in between,
felt hopeful about the economy
and believe the economy is mov
-
ing in the right direction. This
particular survey began in the first
quarter of 2014, and those confi-
dence levels are at their highest.
New Homebuyer Assistance Available
in the Manufactured Housing Market
Freddie Mac is teaming with Next Step Network to provide homebuyers
financial education and credit access for manufactured housing.
F
reddie Mac wants to
help homebuyers become
"mortgage-ready" starting
in Kentucky, according to
an announcement in April. The
GSE is teaming up with Louis
-
ville-based housing intermediary
Next Step Network and three
nonprofit housing counseling
agencies to implement an online
education curriculum, with a
focus on manufactured homes.
The goal is to support access to
credit and affordable lending for
the manufactured homes segment
of the housing market. Freddie
Mac stated that manufactured
homes are a crucial source of
housing stock, and the average
price of a manufactured home is
$71,600, while the average price
of a new single-family, site-built
home is $373,900, according to the
U.S. Census Bureau.
Freddie Mac previously
announced its partnership
with Next Step in November
2016, with a plan to develop a
consumer education curriculum
for manufactured homebuyers
called SmartMH, an energy-
efficient manufactured housing
initiative led by lenders, retailers,
manufacturers, nonprofits, and
public stakeholders. The program
pairs participating buyers with
one of three U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development-
approved housing counseling
agencies: Community Ventures
Corporation in Lexington,
Kentucky; Frontier Housing in
Morehead, Kentucky; or In
Charge Debt Solutions in Orlando,
Florida. The education curriculum
will be offered through eHome
America, an online homebuyer
education platform.
These agencies will provide
assistance to potential
homebuyers with blemished
credit histories and offer
homebuyer education and advice
on strengthening their credit
and navigating the finance and
purchase processes.
Several lenders are already
participating in Next Step's
SmartMH program, including
Community Ventures, Credit
Human Federal Credit Union,
Frontier Housing, Forcht Bank,
Kentucky Housing Corporation,
and Key Mortgage Company.
Freddie Mac and Next Step are
in the process of seeking new
lenders interested in making real
property loans for energy-efficient
manufactured homes.